Wandering Soul
by Tommy B Rude
Summary: In one world, Shinji Ikari was lost. In another, he was merely forgotten.
1. Default Chapter

**Wondering Soul (Rudeboy Edition)**  
  
  
**Prologue**  
One Lost, One Forgotten  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
On March 13th 2015, fifteen year old Shinji Ikari was on his way back to the apartment he shared with Misato and Asuka. It had been a while since the last angel attack, so Shinji's mind was starting to drift from combat as it tended to do in the space of time between battles. In quiet times like this, alone but not lonely, Shinji was free to reflect on things he usually overlooks. Like the fact that despite it all, being here with Misato and Asuka made him happy.  
Asuka, now there's a complex subject for the young man. She was loud, demanding, rude, and yet he thought he could see something there that drew him to her. It wasn't like he LOVED her or anything, but he definitely liked having her around. It was as if she radiated life and energy to everything around her. Something that Shinji could definitely appreciate, seeing how dark his life seemed in the days before coming to Tokyo 3.  
  
But he realized it wasn't just Asuka, it was everyone. Ever since he'd come here, it was as if he'd been part of a family. A strange one, but a family nonetheless. And it was more than he had back when he lived with his teacher.  
  
Tomorrow was White Day, and even though Asuka hadn't gotten him anything on Valentines Day, he had still gotten her a small gift. Whether or not he was actually going to give it to her was an entirely different matter. He wanted to, but he was afraid of how she would react. She might laugh at him, or insult him, or even *shudder* beat the crap out of him. Or maybe she'd accept it….  
  
Shinji never got to finish that thought because less than a moment later he was gone.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
On march 13thth 2025, twenty five year old Shinji Ikari was on his way back to his apartment. He was lonely and miserable, but that's how he'd felt every day for the past 10 years. He wished the park streets weren't so empty this time of day. Maybe if there was someone around he wouldn't feel so alone, even if they didn't spare him so much as a second glance. When he was alone like this, he wasn't haunted by things he was usually able to block out most of the time. Like how utterly alone he was, and how much he missed his friends and loved ones.  
  
Love, such a cruel thing. In the end, all it did was make the loss that much harder to deal with. He had either hurt or killed everyone he had ever cared about. Touji was crippled, he had let Asuka die without even telling her how he felt, Misato gave her life to give him a chance, but he let her down. He also realized that they had all had reason to hate him before they left. He let Asuka get hurt, time and time again. He almost killed Touji. He even pushed Misato away before she died. The only small comfort in his life was the knowledge that he had earned his pain. He would live out the rest of his days in misery knowing full well that he deserved every second of it and much worse.  
  
He had nothing else. No friends, no family, no one. Just one man and his never ending torment. If that wasn't bed enough, his health seemed to be failing too. He'd been having chronic migraines for almost 10 years. They were so common that he just accepted them as part of his daily cycle. But a few years ago they had gotten worse. Now for the past two years he'd been having mild seizures, and no doctor could seem to figure out what was wrong with him. They claimed it was stress. He believed it was penance….  
  
Shinji never got to finish that thought. In a matter of seconds, he was wracked by the most unbearable pain he'd felt so far. He'd never had a seizure this bad before.   
_  
Oh my god, this is it. This isn't some kind of momentary blackout, I'm actually going to die this time…_  
  
And with that thought, Shinji's entire world went black.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
Notes:  
Check it, I'm the 4th fanfic writer to make one of the Wandering Soul stories. The others are currently on Darkscribes.org.  
The Original idea was by Lord Deathscythe, the others are loosely based on his idea. As for mine, I'm basically borrowing the reality he created, and doin' my own thing wit it. You'll see later on.   



	2. This Isn't Right Or Maybe it Is

**Wandering Soul (Rudeboy Edition)**  
By Tommy B Rude  
  
**Chapter 1**  
This Isn't Right  
(_Or Maybe It Is_)   
---------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
With a groan, Shinji opened his eyes and tried to sit up.  
_  
Well I guess I'm not dead…_  
  
He blinked a few times and realized how clear everything looked. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something felt different. Then he realized, it was him. The dull pounding in the back of his head was gone for the first time in as long as he could remember. He chose not to get used to it, as the pain would most likely be back soon anyway.   
  
He didn't know how long he had been out, but he knew it was late so he picked himself up and started home again.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
A young woman walked down the street leading to her apartment. Her hair was held back by neural clips that she hadn't used in almost 9 years, but still kept because they reminded her of who she used to be. She wasn't entirely proud of the girl Asuka Langley Sohryu once was, but she didn't want to forget it either.   
She decided not to get into another fit of self-examination and reflection at the moment. Not tonight. This was HIS night. One day a year, she and her friends both mourned the loss of and celebrated the virtues of young Shinji Ikari who had vanished without a trace 10 years ago. Tonight they would get together, tell stories, remember old times, and pray that he would someday return. Asuka wished he could come back, but wasn't too hopeful these days. After ten years, she had decided that Shinji would have to be written off as a chance missed.  
  
There were two stories about Shinji that she had never told the others. She never did because she knew it would break their hearts. It broke her heart every time she thought about them. One was about the time they had kissed. Sure, the others could talk about what a great guy Shinji was, or the good times they had had, but only she could say that the young man had given her her first kiss. Her first glimpse into the world of teenage romance that normal children who weren't burdened by the fate of humanity were allowed to discover on their own time. But in the span of less than a minute, it had been just them. No Evas, no angels, no training, no Nerv, just two kids doing what people do. Asuka had acted foolish that day, but she still treasured the memory as a brief escape from her real life and responsibilities.  
  
The other was about a small package she had found in his room a few days after he left. It was red with a yellow ribbon and a tag that said "To Asuka". She was almost in tear when she found it, and was in tears when she opened it to find a small golden locket inside. It wasn't anything fancy, just a simple unmarked heart shaped medal that opened so one could put a picture inside.  
  
She pulled out the locket that she now wore around her neck and opened it. Inside was the small picture of Shinji that she had chosen to keep inside the tiny frame all these years. Seeing it made her think about how she had felt about him. Kaji was Asuka's first crush, but Shinji was much more. If only she hadn't been so scared back then, they might've had a chance. He wasn't just a crush; he was the one that got away. Part of her tended to think the worst of the situation. That maybe if she had been nicer to him, he wouldn't have left. Maybe he'd still be here, by her side instead of wherever he had gone off to. She knew she was just being hard on herself, but she thought she deserved it.  
  
Asuka realize she had tears in her eyes. With a sniff, she wiped them, regained her composure and continued home.  
-----------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Shinji tried to turn the handle, but it seemed to be locked. He could've sworn he'd left it open like he always did. He pulled out his key and tried to unlock it, but it wouldn't fit.   
_  
Great, just what I needed. The manager is going to LOVE me for calling him and begging to open my door. _  
But he thought maybe the key was warped or something. He might have bent it when collapsed back in the park. Fortunately, Misato had always taught him to leave a spare key under the mat. He lifted the doormat and picked up the spare room key. This one did work, so he went inside and dropped his briefcase by the door. He never took anything in or out of it. He just carried it to work for show. It would stay by the door till tomorrow where he would retrieve it for another day as a prop in his meaningless life. As he stepped into the kitchen, he froze.  
  
He looked around in disbelief. This wasn't his apartment.   
  
Well, it was but it wasn't. the room was the same, but this one was…nice. He hadn't refurnished since he'd inherited the lease from Misato, but the furnishing in here looked almost new. More importantly, it was clean as opposed to the varying states of ruin he had let his surroundings fall into. He realized he must've made a terrible mistake and wondered into some unsuspecting persons home. He quickly turned around to leave, but heard the front door open again.   
He heard a woman's voice. "I'm home. Is that you, Hikari?"  
---------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Asuka was a little worried. Her roommate usually wasn't home before her on Thursdays. Maybe someone had used the spare key to break in. Damn Misato, she's the one who had taught her to always keep a spare under the doormat. The ratty looking briefcase by the doorway didn't do anything to ease her fears either. She was worried, but Asuka still wasn't one to be scared easily. She barged into the kitchen to see what was going on. As soon as she stepped into the room, she froze.  
Standing there was a pale, skinny man with dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he'd wondered out of some kind of horror story. She took a step back.  
  
"Who…who are you?" She didn't scare easily, but this man's dark eyes did the trick quite nicely. As much of a mess as this man was, there was something familiar about him.  
  
For his part, Shinji just felt sorry. He just wanted to apologize to the young woman and explain that he had accidentally gone to the wrong apartment, then excuse himself. She wasn't about to let him off that easy though.  
  
"Hey you, I asked you a question! Who the hell are you?"  
  
"I'm…I'm sorry. I must have made a mistake…"  
  
"You're sorry? Is that all you can do, apologize for barging into someone else's home and..." Asuka's mind stopped dead in its tracks. "Shinji….is that you?" she gasped.  
  
"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Shinji looked at the woman. She was tall, she had long red hair, blue eyes…wait. How many people in Tokyo3 have red hair? "No…"  
  
"Shinji? Is that really you?" Asuka was almost in tears again.  
  
"No, get away from me!" Shinji muttered. Actually, it was almost a growl.  
  
"Shinji, its me, Asuka…"  
  
"No! Don't say that! You're not real!" She couldn't be. Asuka was dead because of him. He reminded himself of that fact at least 10 times a day. Shinji began to back away from the ghost. He wasn't in someone else's apartment, he was going mad. "Leave me alone, go away!"  
  
"Shinji, please. Let me help you…"  
  
"NO!" He grabbed the back of the chair nearest to him and threw it in her direction. "Go away!"  
  
Shinji ran to the hall and ripped opened the door to his room. He went inside and slammed the door, hoping to keep out the image that haunted him. But as soon as he looked around, he tried to scream but nothing came out. The room was his, but it was exactly as it had been 10 years ago. Back when he still had a life. This was too much for him, Shinji did the only thing he could do; he dropped to his knees and began to cry.  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
Asuka was beating on the door to Shinji's room.  
  
"Dammit Shinji, open this door!"  
  
"Go away!" was the only response  
  
Seeing no other alternative, she slammed her shoulder into the door with all her weight, breaking it in.   
  
"Shinji?"  
  
'Shinji', or at least whom she thought was Shinji crawled to the corner of the room and curled himself into a fetal position.   
  
"Please…go away. Just leave me alone." He whimpered  
  
"Shinji, its me…" Asuka slowly got down on the floor.  
  
"No you're not…Asuka's dead. You're just here to remind me of that!"  
  
"What are you talking about!? I'm not dead!"  
  
"*sniff* Yes you are…I saw them bury you 9 years ago!"  
  
"Shinji, PLASE, I'm not here to hurt you. We have to figure out what's going on here."  
  
Shinji lowered the arm that was shielding his eyes. "Asuka, is that really you?"   
  
"Of course, baka." She said, somewhat relieved that he was starting to calm down. "You may not believe it, but I'm NOT as dead as you think I am. See?" She held out her hand.  
  
Shaking, Shinji slowly reached out to touch it. He gasped slightly as he made contact. He tried to pull back, but Asuka's hand encircled his.  
  
"Believe me now?"  
  
Shinji choked back another sob, but tears still welled up in his eyes. "Its really you……"  
T  
his time Asuka gasped as Shinji suddenly embraced her. "I can't believe its really you…" He was crying again.  
  
Asuka slowly put her arms around Shinji too. She had a lot to think about, but didn't know where to start. She had to call Misato. Scratch that, she had to call everyone. They had to find out where Shinji had been, or why he'd suddenly come back seemingly out of nowhere. And what was all this about her being dead?  
She noticed Shinji had fallen asleep with his face buried in her shoulder. She pushed him away and slowly lowered his head to the ground.  
_  
Poor guy, he looks like he's been through hell…_  
  
She went to his bed and got his pillow and blanket so he'd be more comfortable. Before leaving, she whispered into his ear, "Welcome home, Shinji."  
  
She closed the door to his room behind her and let out a sigh. There were definitely some phone calls she had to make. Misato would be the first one to want to know about Shinji's return.  
  
She couldn't help but giggle at that thought. He'd returned, he'd really come back. Even after all the hopes, she really wasn't expecting it to happen. But it did, and Shinji was back.  
_  
And this time Shinji Ikari,_ she thought, _I'm NOT letting you leave me again._  
  
TBC  
  
**Commercial:**  
Life got ya' down? Not getting' any? Too poor to afford drugs?   
Then what you need is an AMV! That's right folks, official Anime Rudeboy Productions AMVs are GUARANTEED* to improve your life in every way imaginable. And the best part is, THEY'RE FREE! Just head on over to www.animerudeboyproductions.com and download to your hearts content. So do yourself a favor and enjoy the magic that is AMVs!  
_*Disclaimer: This is in no way a guarantee. _  
  
**Notes:**  
  
So where did this come from? Well, I was prereadin' for LD's version of the story, an' started to wonder what would happen if Shinji returned as an adult instead of a child. One thing led to another (as it usually does in my deranged little mind), an' the final product was this. What happens when you take an extremely psychologically abused Shinji, an' drop him into a setting where he would be most welcomed. LD's 'world' fit the bill perfectly. But what of the world adult Shinji came from? How did he get to the other one in the first place? Does ANYTHING make sense in this story? Fear not, yo. All will be explained in good time.  
Wanna thank my prereaders, Supernova, Tchernobyl, an' Lord Malachite for helpin' work out most of the bugs that come as a result of writing at 4am in the morning.   
  
  
PS, I'm only posting this fic to lend a little cheap credibility to my name.  
  
PS again, I wasn't at all happy to see that the current batch of Pokemon fanfics are on the whole betta' than the shit thass bein turned out in the Eva section. Shame on y'all! Get some fuckin' pride an' start writin' GOOD shit.  
  
Peace, I'm out.  



End file.
